DJ AM (born Adam Michael Goldstein; March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009) was an American DJ, remixer, record producer and musician. Goldstein was a member of the rock band Crazy Town from 1999 until 2001, and was a successful solo DJ, performing for three years at Caesars Palace as well as at private events for various celebrities. He was also one half of TRV$DJAM along with Travis Barker. Barker and Goldstein both survived the 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash, which killed the other four people on board.

Goldstein appeared in several television series, hosted the MTV series Gone Too Far and contributed mixes and appeared as a playable character in the video game DJ Hero. He appeared as himself in the film Iron Man 2, which was dedicated in his memory after his death. On August 29, 2009 he was found dead in his New York City apartment from a drug overdose.

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Goldstein was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] Goldstein described his father as "unbelievably cruel", stating that he was verbally abuse by him.[2][3] His father abused drugs and alcohol and was sent to jail for committing bank fraud and later died due to complications from AIDS.[3] As an adult, however, Goldstein found out that the man he thought was his father was not his biological one.[4] Goldstein attended the Quaker school Friends' Central.[5] After his parents divorced he moved with his mother to Los Angeles where he fell in with a crowd of heavy drug users. He was sent to a drug rehabilitation centre though was indicted and dismissed for his treatment of younger patients.[4]

When Goldstein was 20 years old, he started deejaying, which he had been obsessed with since seeing Herbie Hancock perform "Rockit" at the 1983 Grammy Awards. During his early 20s, Goldstein also battled a drug addiction, specifically to crack cocaine. At one point, he attempted suicide but was unsuccessful when the gun did not go off.[6][3] Shortly thereafter, he became sober, began attending AA meetings and dedicated himself to working as a DJ.[7][8]

Goldstein began dating actress Nicole Richie in 2003 and announced their engagement in February 2005,[9] though the couple broke up in late 2006.[10] Goldstein was an avid sneakerhead, owning over 600 pairs of sneakers by 2006.[11]

On September 19, 2008, after having performed at a college event with frequent collaborator Travis Barker, Goldstein and Barker were aboard South Carolina Learjet 60 when it crashed upon takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. The crash killed both crew members and the two other passengers, and critically injured Goldstein and Barker.[14] They were transported to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia.[15] Goldstein suffered burns on his hands and parts of his head. His ex-girlfriend Mandy Moore flew to be by his side in hospital.[16] Goldstein was released on September 26, 2008.[17] In December 2008, Goldstein filed a civil lawsuit against the plane's charter company, Learjet and Goodyear tires; the suit claims negligence on the part of the pilots and a manufacturing defect on the part of the plane. Goldstein was asking for damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of earnings.[18][19]

His reality television appearances include Punk'd, where his former fiancée, Nicole Richie, was the subject of a practical joke, and the third season of The Simple Life. Goldstein appears as himself in the "What About Bob?" episode of Entourage's third season. He also appeared as a guest DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2009 he appeared in the documentary Downtown Calling.[25]His final project was Gone Too Far, a drug intervention reality show for MTV, shooting eight episodes before his death, with an original scheduled air date of October 5, 2009. According to intervention expert BJ Hickman, who appeared in two episodes, Goldstein was clearly struggling with his addiction during filming. After Goldstein's death, Tony DiSanto, who came up with the idea for the show, stated "It crosses all of our minds" whether placing Goldstein near other addicts helped contribute to his relapse.[26] After debating whether to air the show following his death, MTV decided to debut it on October 12.[27] His family stated "It is our hope through airing this show that people will get to see the side of Adam that we knew and loved. The decision to air the show has been difficult, but we do this with the profound belief that it will inspire others to seek help".[28]

Goldstein in June 2009

Goldstein was involved with Activision’s DJ Hero game in 2009. After his death Activision vice president Tim Riley said “We hope that his work on the game will be a fitting tribute to his creative spirit and musical talent.”[29] He posthumously won "DJ of the Year" at the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards.[30] Shortly after his death, he was featured in the South Park episode "Dead Celebrities", along with other celebrities that died in the summer of 2009. Goldstein filmed a cameo for the 2010 film Iron Man 2 two months before his death, appearing as himself deejaying Tony Stark's birthday party. The film is dedicated in his memory.[31]

In August 2011, several DJs paid tribute to DJ AM at the Vanity Nightclub in the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.[41]Eminem paid tribute to Goldstein on the 2010 song "Talkin' 2 Myself", rapping "Rest in peace to DJ AM/'cause I know what it's like/I struggle with this shit every single day."[42] Eminem also battled an addiction to prescription medication[43] and nearly died from a methadone overdose in late 2007.[44] On the cover of the Blink-182 album, Neighborhoods, "DJ AM" can be seen written on one of the buildings, as a memorial.[45]

A documentary film about Goldstein titled As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM, was announced at the Electric Daisy Carnival Week's EDMbiz Conference on June 20, 2013.[46] The film was directed by Kevin Kerslake and released in April 2015. Dennis Harvey Variety called it an entertaining documentary, though also stated "there are some notable gaps left in the pic’s posthumous understanding of DJ AM ... as its flashy surface doesn’t always help us to understand the pure artistic soul he’s depicted as here.[4]

^Snead, Elizabeth (September 21, 2008). "A look back as Travis Barker and DJ AM look ahead to a 'full recovery'". LA Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2015. On Monday morning I went to a meeting and said, 'I can’t deejay sober – I sucked. This is how I pay my rent, and if I can’t deejay, I don’t know what I’m going to do.' After the meeting, a guy came up to me and said, 'I promise you, if you stay sober, your career will go further than you ever imagined possible.